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Editorial: Be an educated voter this election

Social media can be a great place to get the latest updates on what goes on if individuals follow or ‘friend’ the right pages. However, most of what people see on their news feeds are memes, rants, propaganda or highly biased opinions without facts to back them up.

To be a properly educated voter on the presidential campaign, individuals need to watch speeches and debates, read credible, unbiased articles on both candidates, and fact check wild accusations.

Passion does not equate to credibility.

Just because Grandma wrote a long detailed post about how much she loves one of the candidates, does not necessarily mean that candidate is the best. Just because Dad posted a funny meme about a candidate being horrible does not mean that candidate is actually a poor choice.

Sometimes the crazy posts about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are true, but those instances are few and far between. Most of the negative statements said are stretched or misconstrued truths from a supporter of the opposite candidate.

Be skeptical of all posts, good and bad, about both Clinton and Trump. Voters need to weigh the pros and cons of each candidate coming into presidency before making a final decision.

Dig deeper on everything. When a candidate says they care about a certain issue, don’t just stop there.  Why do they care about it? What are their plans to fix it? What side to do they take on it?

Look only at the candidate, not his or her supporters.  An individual may have very skewed or misplaced reasons for supporting a candidate that do not actually reflect what that candidate stands for.

Looking at social media for political information is not enough. Click on the articles, look who wrote them. Chances are voters won’t find an unbiased article about Trump from a Republican website, or one about Clinton from a Democratic website. Find neutral outlets to get information from.

Not everyone on the internet is a reporter, so stop treating their pages like renowned news agencies and their posts like credible articles. Don’t just be a voter, be an educated voter.

The Spectator has chosen not to endorse a candidate. Rather than throw support behind an individual, the editorial staff strongly encourages everyone to make their own well-informed decision. The students at VSU will play a large role in the future of this country. Do not take that for granted.

 

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